Water Scarcity and Desalination in MENA
Water scarcity is one of the major global challenges today, as freshwater resources are becoming insufficient to meet growing demands [1]. This issue is particularly severe in the MENA region, where climate change, rising temperatures, population growth, and urbanization are intensifying pressure on already limited water resources [2]. In response, many countries in the region, especially arid and coastal ones such as the GCC states, have increasingly turned to desalination as a major source of freshwater, by converting saline water into usable water [3, 4, 5].
Conventional Desalination Methods and Environmental Impacts
Conventional desalination methods remain far from sustainable [6]. Thermal desalination, mainly multi-stage flash (MSF) and multiple-effect distillation (MED), which produce freshwater by heating water and condensing the resulting vapor, are highly energy-intensive and can contribute significantly to GHG emissions [4]. Membrane-based methods, mainly reverse osmosis (RO), works by forcing saline water through semi-permeable membranes, and generally require less energy, but they still generate chemical residuals [7, 8]. In addition, both thermal and RO desalination produce concentrated brine, which poses serious environmental risks when discharged into the sea, including increased salinity, oxygen depletion, and damage to benthic habitats [9, 10].
Given that the Middle East hosts nearly half of the world’s desalination capacity and accounts for 50.68% of global brine production, there is a clear need to adopt more sustainable desalination approaches [11].
Sustainable Desalination Approaches in MENA
One of the main environmental challenges associated with desalination plants is brine generation. As a result, brine valorization, or brine mining, is gaining increasing attention in the MENA region as a more sustainable management strategy. For example, studies and official initiatives in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are exploring the recovery of valuable resources from desalination brine, including bromine, lithium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sodium for use in process industries, while also examining carbon dioxide sequestration as part of sustainable brine management [11].
Another method being adopted to improve desalination sustainability is the use of energy recovery devices (ERDs) in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants, which can substantially reduce the high energy demand of these facilities. This represents a practical sustainability upgrade because ERDs lower energy consumption and associated carbon emissions [12]. Energy recovery devices are being increasingly incorporated into SWRO projects across Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and other GCC countries [13, 14].
Hybrid desalination systems are also being adopted as a more sustainable approach in the Middle East. These systems combine membrane and thermal processes to improve energy efficiency, increase operational flexibility, and make use of existing thermal infrastructure [11]. Several countries in the region started adopting hybrid desalination systems. For instance, Saudi Arabia’s Ras Al-Khair plant uses a hybrid MSF-SWRO configuration [15], while the UAE has also combined RO and MED technologies [16].
Adopting renewable energy is another key sustainable approach, as it reduces the carbon intensity of desalination plants. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are using photovoltaic (PV) and solar-thermal systems in desalination processes [11], while Jordan, Oman, and Morocco are also advancing renewable-energy approaches through solar and wind systems [18, 19, 20].
Conclusion and Future Orientations
Desalination remains an essential solution for water supply in the MENA region, but its sustainability is still challenged by high energy demand and large brine production. Recent progress suggests that the region is moving toward more sustainable practices through renewable-energy integration, improved plant efficiency, hybrid systems, and stronger brine management and valorization strategies [11]. Future efforts may also explore emerging approaches such as wave-powered desalination, direct-solar desalination systems, and advanced resource-recovery pathways, although these technologies remain largely at an early stage of development [21].
Chloe Tannoury
References
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